Living in Thailand

[Daddy07]

...Anyway, it's been a good learning experience. I guess I need a trip to Patts, then, right?

Oh, absolutely!

This place is FULL of great learning experiences.

[NicFrenchy]

Sacrebleu – exactly how old are you?!!

I am only 30

[Cunning Stunt]

Yeah well they're gonna cry their eyes out soon as the BTS is coming next year. People will take the skytrain until their hotel's nearest station then jump in a cab for a final 35thb Ride.

Will be a great day for all Bangkok travelers.

So in other words, I'm fucked, right?

Sacrebleu – exactly how old are you?!! Does your mom know that you have hacked her net nanny password.

Another good reason for selecting older drivers is that they tend to have outgrown any Lewis Hamilton wannabe pretensions and will get you to your hotel with body and nerves intact.

[NicFrenchy]

The most rapacious of the lot were the thieving taxi mafia that had Don Muang by the balls. Just getting into Bangkok, at a reasonable fare, once used to be an achievement in itself. There were some real nasty characters operating out of the airport at that time and it took several murders, unexplained disappearances and many robberies of arriving tourists before they were eventually ousted.

Yeah well they're gonna cry their eyes out soon as the BTS is coming next year. People will take the skytrain until their hotel's nearest station then jump in a cab for a final 35thb Ride.

Best policy in future is to hand pick your taxi drivers and only go with those who look the same age or older than yourself. No young ‘uns.

So in other words, I'm fucked, right?

[GoodEnough]

oth, thanks for sharing what must have been an extremely harrowing experience. i'll be back in bangkok later this week, and, given your words of caution, and those of the other members of this board, i'll remember to select my driver with utmost care and get the oldest, frailest driver i can find. without your report, it never would have occurred to me to worry about taxis in bangkok since i've never had issues there.

glad that you escaped relatively unrep001hed.

ge

[Cunning Stunt]

i would think that the background checks done, in bangkok, on prospective taxi drivers are fairly perfunctory at best, so it would not surprise me in the least if many of them have criminal records.

bangkok taxi drivers have always been a dodgy bunch of miscreants. the meter taxis are a comparatively recent introduction. not so many years ago, all bangkok taxis were unmetered and you had to negotiate a fare before you climbed in otherwise you were bound to be scalped. the most rapacious of the lot were the thieving taxi mafia that had don muang by the balls. just getting into bangkok, at a reasonable fare, once used to be an achievement in itself. there were some real nasty characters operating out of the airport at that time and it took several murders, unexplained disappearances and many robberies of arriving tourists before they were eventually ousted. incidentally, it really is astonishing to see how quickly bangkok has modernized in just a comparatively short space of time. 20 years ago the place was on par with jakarta and manila. now it has pretensions to be in the same league as hong kong or kl.

i think that oth was definitely been set up for a robbery at best and that he was lucky to escape unrep001hed. best policy in future is to hand pick your taxi drivers and only go with those who look the same age or older than yourself. no young ‘uns. in other words the inverse of how you would go about picking a bf in a bar.

take care out there, particularly in these interesting times. the city only appears tamed on the surface which once scratched soon reverts to the feral creature it really is.

[Daddy San]

In NYC on the East Side, a punk once tried to mug me with a knife.
Luckily for me, he was so stoned, that he did not notice, untill I had kicked his balls and he was screaming with pain on the sidewalk.
But that was some 25 years ago and I would not want to go through that experience again.
So now I always carry pepper spray. Maybe not the best solution if your taxi is driving fast.

PS.
Pack your pepper spray in you checked luggage. Hand luggage is a no-no!

[Davidboy]

He was clearly desparate and angry, about something right from the moment I got in the taxi. It only got worse after that. My Thai actually exacerbated the problem because at the end, I lost my temper and started swearing at him. When I called him a "Hee-aa", he really went off the deep end.

I've travelled in some pretty rough places in my life. So, I'm usually pretty careful and always on guard. But, as I said, I'm complacent because of being in BKK so long. I got sloppy. I should've sensed something wasn't right after I got in the taxi.

Anyway, it's been a good learning experience. I guess I need a trip to Patts, then, right?

I am sorry but this is my first reply in my many years of 'monitoring' ISG. I am a former US Marine who has lived in BKK for seven years. In this situation; and I have had a few similar instances to the one described by OIH; I believe it is best to convince the Taxi Driver that I am crazier than he is. Which happens to be a true-fact. And if that does not convince him I am willing and able to prove it by inflicting bodily harm to his person and all those who are his friends. My concern is never for my own personal safety; it is to do damage to those who are bullies that have a notion they, 'can because they can'

[Vinny_Viagra]

Maybe it was just a dream I had while my lovely Thai GF was lovingly lapping my unit the other day?
...

I live in Boston after having lived many years in Thailand. I read ISG daily though. There is a small massage place here that has a few thai women. Although the range of services is somewhat limited at this place, I have made friends with all of them and do quite well. One cute little gal gets a big charge out of it when I put my nose in her clevage and inhale filling my lungs then release uttering the word "Thailand". It's not quite like being there, but I it brings back great memories..

[Old Thai Hand]

I think the chances of something like this happening again are quite slim so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

The thing that puzzles me most about the incident is that it happened even though you speak Thai quite well so he must have known you weren't a rube.

He was clearly desparate and angry, about something right from the moment I got in the taxi. It only got worse after that. My Thai actually exacerbated the problem because at the end, I lost my temper and started swearing at him. When I called him a "Hee-aa", he really went off the deep end.

I've travelled in some pretty rough places in my life. So, I'm usually pretty careful and always on guard. But, as I said, I'm complacent because of being in BKK so long. I got sloppy. I should've sensed something wasn't right after I got in the taxi.

Anyway, it's been a good learning experience. I guess I need a trip to Patts, then, right?

[The Pro]

I think the chances of something like this happening again are quite slim so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

The thing that puzzles me most about the incident is that it happened even though you speak Thai quite well so he must have known you weren't a rube.

Depends what the driver was looking for. If he is looking for kidnapping and ransom then picking up a well dressed farang who can speak Thai means that there is likely a local link willing to pay a ransom.

Again if you are looking to rob someone you do not try the tourist type, as they are likely not carrying too much money or credit cards, whereas someone well dressed and not looking touristy is a better bet. He could have worked out OTH can speak Thai, likely has an ATM card, and potentially he could threaten him and get a few hundred K out of the ATM card.

Again, the best thing if travelling alone at night is phone book a taxi, its all recorded then and you do not get a freelancer driver borrowing someone elses car, or a maniac.

If you are coming from the airport then yes, provided you take a taxi from the queue system and get the piece of paper you are pretty safe.

The infamous Don Muang Intl thief was one of those who waited upstairs at the drop off area looking to pick up farangs without the queue system. Easy to rip them off then as no record of who picked them up.

Tourist Police Number is 1155 (will speak English)

Police Number is 191

Phone booking of Taxi numbers are: (Phone booking is +20 baht on the fare)
1661
1681
02 880 0888;
02 911 5772;
02 878 9000

They are all different companies.

[Daddy07]

...Her brother offered to get me a gun to carry with me from now on. I'm tempted...

I think the chances of something like this happening again are quite slim so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

The thing that puzzles me most about the incident is that it happened even though you speak Thai quite well so he must have known you weren't a rube.

[Old Thai Hand]

All taxi's have their number on the inside on the rear doors, the yellow plate thats rivetted on.

Simply call the police and tell them you are being kidnapped in taxi number xxxx.

If you are in a panic and things not going well wait until you are in traffic and preferably going slow then pull on the hand brake and hold it pulled up, or pull the gearstick into neutral and hold it there.

You only have to get the car to a stop and you can get out. If he is trying to release the handbrake or put the car into gear and you are stopping him then he will all the while be slowing down.

If the car is going slow then reach over and pull the ignition keys out. This will put on the steering lock and also stop the engine.

If he is wizzing along very fast then one thing to try is to open the door when passing another car (using your legs to push it open) and hit the other car with the door. This will attract attention, other people and phone calls to the police.

The main thing is you need to attract attention and stay in places where lots of other cars or people are.

There used to be a driver who worked Don Muang Intl who always robbed tourists, taking them off to the middle of nowhere and taking their money.

Simple thing to do nowadays is if travelling at night, never travel alone.

If you must travel alone then phone book a taxi. It costs a few baht more for phone booking but the taxi is recorded as on call to you, so they will not try anything on.

All good, except that perhaps because I have lived here so long and NEVER had any sort of problem like this, I'm a bit complacent and didn't think to get his number, (nor did the 2nd taxi driver, who was too busy trying to dodge the guy, as he tried to ram us).

I did phone my GF, whose brother is a cop, while this was happening. But, she didn't pick up and only called back when I was in the 2nd taxi.

Her brother offered to get me a gun to carry with me from now on. I'm tempted. But, I'll probably opt for a tazer, instead. The prospect of shooting a taxi driver (or whoever) would probably not bode well for a Farang, even if totally justified.

[Warbucks]

last night, i was kidnapped by a bangkok cabbie.

at one point he suggested, that because times are tough for taxis - too many taxis, no tourists and thus severely falling revenue - that the guy was likely trying something foolish and desparate to get some much-needed cash.

tension is certainly in the air in bangkok, like i've never felt it before.

so, this is just a warning to both newbie and veteran to be extra-careful and watchful. thailand isn't the carefree, easy-going place it used to be.

…..ask buddha

got damn oth are you having a string of bad fucking luck or what? on a serious note glad you made out of that unrep001hed. anyway you handled the situation correctly. if you can flee flee, if cornered fight….even wild animals know this.

[Member #3428]

Here's a question, how many times have you gotten in a taxi and the driver is not the one on the license? I'd have to estimate 30% of the time it's a different person.

Luckily I've had few problems with taxi drivers in BKK, a few short cuts that were wrong and them saying they know fastest route when I actually know the better routes etc... but for the most part knock on wood I've yet to come across a major scam like OTH and it reminds me that BKK is getting more and more dangerous as it progresses.

BUT... I do talk on my cell phone or text when in a taxi, try to pronounce the area correctly in thai language or as close as I can, engage in a little chit chat in limited thai with the driver, etc... Atleast he knows I'm not a friggin newbie in BKK.